A Growing Escalation In West Africa - Scott Morgan

[FeedStar]

It is becoming painfully clear that the divisions that have been occurring with Ivory Coast that have lasted more than a decade remain unresolved. And it also appears that President Gbagbo has fallen into the trap that has soured many African Leaders in the West.

That issue is leadership. In the Western Countries Leadership is defined by how effective the leader is while in power. In Africa Leadership is defined by the length of time served in Power. This is regardless of whether this is through the Democratic Process or if the Country has an Autocratic form of leadership.

Earlier this month Ivory Coast held a Presidential Election to determine whether or not President Gbagbo deserved another term as leader. The actual voting process went off with no problems. The issues that arose came while the ballots were being counted.  What happened was that Independent Observers determined that the Opposition Candidate Mr. Ouattra won the Election by almost 10 percentage points. However the Official Government body determined that President Gbagbo was reelected.

How was this conclusion reached? The Government Body counting the ballots had issues with the results in seven districts. These Districts were in the Northern Part of the Country. This Area was the scene of an Insurgency earlier this decade and was also the Power Base for Mr. Ouattra. So for practical purposes now any Ivorian Peace deal can be considered to be null and void.

The Reaction of President Gbagbo has been interesting. He has called for the Removal of the UN Peacekeepers and the 1,000 French Troops that are currently supporting them. In a vote yesterday the UN Security Council extended the Mission Mandate for Another Six Months. The UN Peacekeepers are now considered to be rebels by the Ivorian Government.

A Growing Escalation In West Africa